Obituary of Elsie I. Nelson

Elsie I. Nelson, 80 longtime resident of Millersburg died Friday, March 16, 2007, at the Parkview Manor in Wellman following an extended illness. A Gathering of family and friends will be held from 4 to 7pm Tuesday, March 20, 2007, at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City. In lieu of flowers a memorial fund has been established in her memory. Online condolences may be sent for her family through the web @www.gayandciha.com. Elsie I. Strausser was born August 7, 1926, in rural Iowa County, Iowa the daughter of Richard Moral “Dick” Strausser and Hazel Irene (McMaster) Strausser who lived on the Carl Rush farm north of North English, IA. She received her education in the North English and Millersburg schools, graduating from Millersburg High School in 1945. In the fall of 1940 she contracted polio was confined to bed for almost a year. She later had bone surgery receiving a bone marrow transplant at the University of Iowa Hospitals being the first successful recipient of this procedure. A woman of great determination she was able to get around by wearing a full brace on one leg and a half brace on the other. She married Grant Nelson on April 1, 1946, in Sigourney. They made their homes in several places before settling in Millersburg. The couple later divorced and Elsie continued to live in Millersburg until moving to Parkview Manor in Wellman on July 1, 2003. Elsie operated a Dairy Sweet beside her home for a number of years in Millersburg. She was a member of the Rebecca Lodge, American Legion Women’s Auxiliary, Millersburg United Methodist Church and the United Women’s Christian Association. She enjoyed doing crocheting and quilt work. Elsie loved watching NASCAR racing, especially if her driver, Mark Martin was behind the wheel, and a bigger Chicago Cubs fan couldn’t be found! Always loved her faithful dog and all the company he was to her. Through all her health issues, advanced post polio syndrome, heart disease and diabetes she still enjoyed life and had a heart of gold. Her family includes Kay Nelson and her partner in life, KayLynn Wakanda of North Liberty; sisters, Evelyn (Ellis) Morse of Montezuma, Mary (Lowell) Wolf of Deep River, and Shirley (David) Wade of North English; brother, Richard (Jean) Strausser of Cedar Rapids, brother-in-law, Phillip Grier of Montezuma; and special friends, Neva Miller and Jeri Andrews of Wellman. She was preceded in death by a daughter, Sandra Lee Nelson (1954, son, Ronald Grant Nelson (2005) family friend, Marsha Gifford (2004), sister, Elizabeth Arlene Grier (1999) parents, Richard (1998, and Hazel (2002), and former husband, Grant (2004). Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service of Iowa City is caring for Elsie’s family and her services.